Beware the Woods, Little Girls
by ScarletDevil1503
Summary: [ONESHOT] Pre-Twilight. Dana was a normal girl. Normal girls go camping on vacation, right? But what happened to her was definitely the opposite. "Life hadn't been harsh enough on me, so nature wanted to take a whack at it, too." OC, OOC. Rated T for mild violence and suggestive themes.


**This one-shot was inspired by Edward's description of Emmett in chapter 13 of _Twilight._ "Even the strongest of us fall off the wagon," he said. Drop a review at the bottom if you feel so inclined!**

**Thanks for reading.  
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**-Scarlet**

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><p>Disclaimer: I do not own <em>Twilight<em>. This is a work of fanfiction.

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><p>*~ <strong>Beware the Woods, Little Girls<strong> ~*

Once upon a time in a strange forest, where the high branches of trees twisted together in unusual silhouettes against the dark morning sky, there was a peculiar little girl who sat on a oddly-shaped log. This log had once been a mighty branch of a tall, proud spruce, but had fallen, and was now reduced to a sitting place for its strange occupant. The girl had arrived at that spot under bizarre circumstances, which now caused tears to fall down her face. She didn't seem to mind them, or notice, and they dropped from her chin every now and again.

A heavy mist hung in the woods that day, and the high, slanting altitude of the terrain only increased the sticky weather conditions. The location was Mount Rainier, in a particularly soggy American state known as Washington. It was an off-season for skiers, and the mountain was quite deserted of snow, as well as people. Only causal campers and daring tourist braved the alpine now.

It had been raining, of course, but no moisture penetrated the thick canopy of the forest. However - strangely enough - the soil, leaves, and moss of the forest floor were permeated with water through and through. Small streams ran down the mountainside, and a leeward breeze licked at the damp barks of trees.

The girl had strayed from her camping party the previous evening, and had grown helpless. The sun was far from rising now, and the moonless night had offered little assistance to her wandering quest. She was lost, irrevocably, deep in that dark forest. Her clothes were tattered and torn from trotting through bushes and shrubs, and her shoes were soaked with mud. Her hands were dirty from catching herself from falls, and her face was muddy from using those hands to wipe her occasional tears.

Her name was Dana... and so is mine.

I was a small, frail creature. I'd never been much for sports, or any outdoor activity whatsoever. Resulting, I was willowy and slender, with skin as pale as snow. My driver's license said that I was 5'1" and 95 lbs. at the time, and wasn't so far off. I was pretty, though not at a glance. I had the kind of beauty that many overlook, and is seldom realized. My Scandinavian blood gave me thick, raven black hair. My Irish was blatant in my emerald eyes, as well as the light dusting of freckles across my nose./p

I don't know what I was thinking that day, but I know what I was feeling - misery.

Life hadn't been harsh enough on me, so nature wanted to take a whack at it, too. It was my first time camping... if you could call it "camping." It was more like some sick experiment to see how long my father and my aunt could survive together in the wild. To make a long story short, I took a twilight stroll on the trail leading away from the dumpy RV at our campsite, and lost the path in the underbrush. I'd never liked the outdoors... and this experience only increased that animosity.

After a time, I finally rose from my seat to stumble toward the pale blue light coming from the east. I tripped over anything my feet found, and narrowed my eyes to find the ground. After another half-hour of fruitless wandering, I collapsed to the ground from tiredness and fatigue.

"This can't be happening," I whispered to myself, whipping my eyelashes dry. It was so surreal - these kind of things only happened in movies. Not to 17-year-old girls on vacation.

Suddenly, in the thick of silence, I heard the distinct sound of a snapping twig. It made me jump, and I held my breath as I slowly stood up. The snapping had been so precise that something large must have caused it. I squinted into the darkness around me.

"Wh-Who's there?"

It was a habit, I suppose, carried over from the nights alone at home. My dad always got home late; either when I was doing homework or when I was already asleep.

Seconds passed noiselessly, and I soon blamed the sound on paranoia. But, when I started stumbling along my way once again, I heard a quiet snarl from behind me.

My heart fibrillated, and I spun around. There was nothing behind me but the twisted scene of a dark forest. I wrapped my arms around my shivering shoulders and tried to scold myself. I had never been one for drama, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Something was _out to get me_. I was sure of it.

pI broke into a run, which was more like a hobble with all the branches in the way. The forest was slowly becoming illuminated, and it scared me on a whole new level now that I could see it. I started panting from my pace, but I _had _to keep going.

Then, it all stopped. I thought I had passed out until I realized I was flat on my back. By the horrible pain in my face, I had run into a brick wall. Dizzily, I shook my head and blinked. My vision was fuzzy, but I didn't miss the dark silhouette above me, blocking out the treetops. Before I had fully recovered, I was face to face with a pair of shining black eyes.

I screamed, naturally, and started kicking my legs; which, I suddenly realized, were dangling above the ground. The creature had me by the arms in an iron grip, and I felt the vibrations of soft growls coming from its... chest? It couldn't have been a wolf if it had hands... and it wasn't a bear if it had _picked me up_. It was a Goddamn _human_.

"Aaah! Let me _go_!" I yelled - mad now - and I kicked my legs at anything I could reach.

Then, the sick bastard put his sick face by my neck, and I felt his breath on the skin there. I felt the baritone of his husky voice on my pulse point. "So... temping..."

My lungs burnt with the force of my screams. "Stop! Don't hurt me!" I couldn't fight against the cold stronghold on my arms no matter what I did, and I could feel where my bruises would be later. I leaned my head away from _it_... that was all I could do. This thing wasn't a man - it was a monster. I'd heard of these guys, and what they did to girls... but I never thought I'd actually happen to _me_.

Then, faster than I could blink, I was flat on the cold ground with a thousand pounds of steel weighing me down. An ice-cold hand covered my mouth, ceasing my cries. I tried writhing out from under it, but I couldn't move a muscle. One word and one word alone echoed through my mind: _rape, rape, rape, rape, rape._

The early-morning light was brighter by then, and my panic-stricken eyes darted around to find the face of my attacker. Just in case I was rescued, I needed to identify the scum in a line-up. First, I saw the white teeth, barred and furious. Then, I saw the coal-black eyes, crazed and animalistic. That's what _it_ was: an animal.

My hysterical yells were only mumbles behind its hand, and I felt tears pouring down my temples. The slob put its face back in my neck, and I felt its nose skim across the bottom of my jaw, inhaling. The only thing that was missing was... well, heat. Its skin was ice-cold against mine, and its breath was without vapor. A subtle, yet important detail to report to the police.

"So, so temping... just a _taste_..." Its voice is strained, pained almost, as if it really had a soul. Then, its icy tongue licked along the pounding artery of my neck, and its smooth teeth graze my skin. I wrinkled my nose.

Sicko. Total sicko.

Then, my mind had an epiphany while my body continued to struggle. Oh, yes... I'd seen the movies. I'd even read a few books. I knew about _them_, and how to spot them. No pulse, cold skin, an aversion to holy objects, pale complexion, unusually pointy _teeth_, a craving for human _blood_, ultra-sensitivity to _sunlight_... I knew about vampires. A minor observation, but something of note I may want to share with my grandchildren when I tell this story.

Suddenly, the rapist ceased all movement. I still couldn't pry myself free, and I realized that I'd stopped screaming. I tried to use my voice, but I found that it had been all used-up. My throat was raw. I silently cried instead, as the beast slowly pulled back from my neck.

Its eyes hovered over me, watching me. Its lips were covering its teeth, and it was grimacing as though it'd tasted something foul. Its eyes were shocked, which, in turn, shocked me.

Its face turned away. "What the hell am I _doing_?" it muttered harshly.

As the seconds ticked away, it appeared to have forgotten about me. Slowly, sneakily, I wiggled a hand out from under it, and raised it to pry the hand away from my mouth. As soon as my fingertips touched its hand, it whipped back around to growl in my face.

The sound was so feral... so _inhuman_... it scared me greatly. A dry whimper reverberated against its hand, and I squeezed my eyes shut. It would surely kill me now.

"You're just... just a _little girl_," it groaned, sounding sad. Almost regretful.

After several most seconds of silence, I cautiously cracked an eye. Its face hadn't moved, but its expression had changed. Now, it was determination. Determination to _kill_. Or not to...?

Then, it disappeared. My body felt as light as a cloud once I was free. I blinked a couple of times to make sure it was really gone, and then I slowly raised my head. I was lightheaded, and my bones ached as I propped myself up on my elbows. After the world regained equilibrium, I realized it had not really disappeared. It was twenty feet away, pacing between two moss-covered pine trees.

I wiped the sweaty hair away from my eyes to get a better look. The sun was somewhere in the sky, blocked by the thick forest, but it still gave great light. The monster rubbed its forehead violently as it walked back and forth, and it cursed quietly under its breath. There were other words, but I couldn't hear them.

Thinking tactically, I stealthily rolled onto my stomach, ignoring the soreness of my body. I began using my elbows to quietly drag myself behind the nearest tree. It outrun me without a doubt, so I'd have to make a strategic getaway...

I was halfway there where it spotted me. My adrenalin shot me into a standing position, ready to fight or fly. It stalked over to me, watching me with its eyes. I now noticed that they were a very light shade of brown; the black color I'd seen before must have been an illusion.

My stance broke as it stalked forward, and I stumbled to the ground when I tried to strafe back. It still came anyway, until it was only mere inches from me. Its face had changed from its animal-like expression, to something more human. I couldn't quite place the emotion there. Was it... guilt?

When it stuck out a hand in greeting, I almost went into cardiac arrest. It spoke again, and its voice was apologetic, "Let's start over. I'm Emmett McCarty."

I didn't take his hand, for fear he would use it to hurt me, but I did offer him this pathetic mumble: "D-Dana..."


End file.
